DIKE, Iowa and INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Golf Partners (GGP), one of the nation's leading golf course management and development companies, has signed a five-year agreement with Fox Ridge Golf Club in Dike, Iowa to manage the privately owned public facility, effective December 7, 2015. Fox Ridge Golf Club is owned and operated by Dr. Steve and Nancy Menke and their son Mike, who is also the golf professional at the course.
Dike is part of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo metropolitan area in northeastern Iowa, located 10 miles west on Highway 20. The 6,809-yard, par 72 course at Fox Ridge was designed by Dennis Krueger and opened as a 9-hole course in 1998, expanding to 18 holes in 2001. It is the only course within 20 miles with bent grass tees and low-mown, bluegrass fairways and one of only three courses in Iowa with USGA-approved, high quality sand in its 37 sand traps.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the Menke family in the management of the only privately owned public golf course in the western Cedar Falls/Waterloo area," said Matt McIntee, CEO of Green Golf Partners. "Mike Menke has done a superior job making Fox Ridge Golf Club a premier and pleasurable experience for golfers of all ages and abilities. We look forward to utilizing our industry expertise to helping Mike take Fox Ridge to the next level."
Mike Menke, a club professional himself, has overseen extensive renovation to Fox Ridge in the last dozen years. "I believe my #1 job as a golf course owner is marketing," he said. "During the last nine years we have increased the number of PGA Pass golfers and more than doubled our rate. I have found that if you offer course conditions superior to every other public course at competitive prices, golfers will remain loyal.
"We've made extensive upgrades to Fox Ridge since my family purchased the property in 2004," added Menke. "Green Golf Partners has a national reputation for expert management of golf courses around the country and should bring increased value and prestige to Fox Ridge Golf Club with its proven savvy at course management."
A $120,000 bunker renovation at Fox Ridge was completed in 2010, fully lining and tiling 37 sand traps that are filled with a new type of sand that allows water to drain without becoming compacted, unique to any course in northeast Iowa. The entire course features an extensive tile system that drains the course so effectively that Fox Ridge is never closed due to wet conditions. The course has sand-based, USGA greens compared to traditional push-up greens.
Since 2003, superintendent Chad Jones and his staff have moved dozens of trees and placed them strategically in areas that directly affect golfers and their shot-making decisions. The rough is kept mown at three inches and fairways are contoured to give added character to each hole.
The clubhouse, which was finished in 1999, features 11,000 square feet on the main floor and includes a half basement with a health club. The bar and banquet area were completely remodeled in 2014 and now feature a full-service bar with 18 craft beers on tap.
About Green Golf Partners
Green Golf Partners is one of the fastest growing golf course management companies in the United States. The senior management team, with over 100 years of experience combined, is considered to be some of the leading golf course management experts in the game of golf in the world. The entire Green Golf Partners team believes that celebrating the game and emphasizing fun are critical to the long-term success at the projects which they develop.
The Green Golf Partners portfolio features courses in six states across the country, including such notable properties as Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer, Ill. (recently awarded the 2018 LPGA Championship), Belleview Biltmore Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. and Jester Park Golf Club in Granger, Ia. For more information on Green Golf Partners, go to www.greengolfpartners.com. For additional information about Fox Ridge Golf Club, call 319-989-2213, visit www.golffoxridge.com or "like" it on Facebook.
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SOURCE Green Golf Partners
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